Pakistan eyes domestic AI solution for cybersecurity

The National Centre for Cyber Security (NCCS) in Pakistan, a government entity, has teamed up with the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) to create an AI-powered solution to protect the nation’s financial sector from cyber threats. The two corporations signed an MoU about this project in February 2020. The project was labelled the “Security & Threat Intelligence Platform”.

Domestic development

Pakistan’s financial institutions are vulnerable to global cyber threats. In fact, almost all sectors with digital operations are prone to cyberattacks. Usually, Pakistani organizations hire foreign cybersecurity providers to insulate them from the threats. To shift this large demand into domestic markets, the country has decided to develop an in-house cybersecurity solution.

Recently, a cyberattack hit the city of Karachi, shutting down the services of the city’s largest electricity provider. Specifically, it was a ransomware attack by the NetWalker group, and it left some technical functions down. As a result, citizens found it difficult to operate issues like bill-payment digitally. 

NCCPL, a provider of automated clearing and settlement services, is all set to share its technical expertise with the NCCS to facilitate the development of the new information security tool. NED University will also aid the duo in their innovation. The inclusion of NED University was done to increase transparency and collaboration between the corporate industry and academia, and create a clear path of progress in the world of cybersecurity.   

According to NCCPL, “This joint venture is well aligned with Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s vision of promoting local products & researches, which will not only make our nation IT and Cyber Security self-reliant but will help in significantly reducing import of Information Security products”. 

Despite the MoU and other proclamations, no specific information about the AI tech is available currently.